Friday, December 18, 2009

buying a computer

Computers sure are easy to get these days, almost anyone have one if you compare it like 6 to 10 years back. The first computing system I was introduce to was windows 95, then come 98 when my mother bought one for the family to learn about it. It was then I found that computers has many functions. Then come windows xp as my first personal pc.

Computers do evolve, and they evolve fast because human are evolving at the same time. To serve their purpose, computers need to evolve many times faster to prevent them from being out phased and hold to their monetary value.

Computers are easy to find and recognise, its in either mobile or a desktop. Mobile computers are going smaller nowadays, A notebook to a netbook and they are going further to the clouds. Making computers even lighter and easier to maintain. Desktop are going bigger nowadays, for a gaming or a workstation that is. Businesses and personal desktop however shrink in size. A computer that once sits on the floor now just hung behind your monitor.

Gaming rig however grow not only in size but design and performance. Some look evil and some just looks to cool to be carried around, but all of them are build to handle processors leeches that gives the best gaming experiences.

So how do you really choose what computers you are looking for? Some look at design, some look at the software they are going to use, some look at the durability, while some just look at the price tag. Yes indeed, computers are expensive for many god knows reason.

The average lifespan of the computers can be as below;























netbooklaptopnotebookmobile workstationmobile gamingbusiness desktopbasic workstationgaming rigprofessional workstation
3-5 years5-6 years5-6 years6-8 years6-8 years5-8 years5-8 years5-8 years5-8 years

The table basically show the average lifespan, but it may differ to the usage of the computer itself and the purpose of it. A netbook that are used for basic computing such as surfing the net, messaging and word processing can last more then 5 years. However a gaming rig that was clocked and run overload daily may have a shorter lifespan. It was depends on the users, a professional workstation may last longer but too need to be change after 5 years may due to the lack of technology advantage in the industry.

Lifespan may not be the value you want to benchmark on. Software? But do you know what software you are looking at? Most people opt for media editing software, while some programming and some are for simulation. A higher specification computer may give you faster processing speed as compare to the lower ones, when you buy, don't choose only the specification that suit that current needs or the computer will be out phased by you before you know it.

Price? Yes, 9 out of 10 people look at this bloody thing that carve a hold in their pocket. If you buy a well build computer things comes in one piece and its just start and play, no hassle in wires or parts; most computers now offers in whole, giving you just to swipe your plastic and carry everything in a box (yes include the monitor).

If you choose the hardware(way), you are looking at a fairly cheaper price and choices in parts. Computers are like men, they are flexible but cranky at first. The basics of computers are; processor, motherboard, ram, harddisks, psu, dvd drive, the casing and keyboard, mouse, speaker and monitor.

Processor, the brain of your computer, the higher the hertz, the higher the performance. Motherboard, then main unit that take cares all the part; most motherboard comes with graphics processing ability, if you required extra juice for image processing a graphic card is a must. Ram, the highway that flow the data to your processor, the higher the gigs the bigger the highway. Harddisk, the main memory drive, store everything that you need, the higher the bytes, the more space you got. Psu (power supply unit), the heart of your computer, no heart no life. The dvd drive, the mouth that reads what you feed in, important to install your software from disks.

Any pieces you left out from above (apart from dvd drive) will leave your computer rest in the storeroom for ages (unless junk yard is your preferred choice). Casing is where you put all that stuff in and match it with the keyboard, mouse, speaker and monitor for your choice.

Computers unlike girls, they are easy to understand once you know where they from.